Wit  (Ufa  of  o  gtaton. 


A  DISCOURSE 

PRONOUNCED  ON  OCCASION  OF  THE 

ORDINATION  OF  MR.  J.  M.  CURTISS, 

TO  THE 

.first  (Irak  in  tire  Jlpstolit  Drkr  of  tire  gtinistrj, 

’  .  I 

Jr  / 

-  •■'fJjH/Wt  jk 

IN  ST.  PAUL’S  CHURCH,  LOUISVILLE, 

UPON  FRIDAY  MORNING,  MAY  23,  1856, 


BY  DAVID  C.  PAGE,  D.  D. 

louisbilUj  f£g. 


“I  knew  it  long  ere  now, 

Yet  am  I  not  afraid; 

The  God  to  whom  I  pledged  my  vow, 

Will  sureiy  send  his  aid. 

At  cost  of  all  I  have, 

At  cost  of  life  and  limb, 

I  cling  to  God  who  yet  shall  save, 

I  will  not  turn  from  Him.” 

Lyua  Germanic*. 


LOUISVILLE: 

S.  RINGGOLD,  CHURCH  HOOK  STORE. 

HULL  AND  BROTHEB,  PRINTERS. 

1856. 


P  is  l  <£ 


T  O  THE 

REV.  J.  M,  CURTIS^, 

IJrittcipal  of  %  Jtatbiai  $c£oai, 

$f  &t.  loan's  parish,  Ifomisbillt, 


The  following  Discourse  delivered  on  occasion  of  his  admis 
sion  to  the  order  of  Deacons,  is  most  affectionately  inscribed  by  the 
author,  in  token  of  his  high  respect  for  the  “  simplicity  and  godly  sin¬ 
cerity,”  and  for  the  more  than  mediocre  talents  which  so  clearly  augur, 
under  Heaven’s  blessing,  his  signal  efficiency  and  usefulness,  whether 
in  the  lower  or  the  higher  ministries  of  the  Church. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Louisville ,  Ky.,  May  2 Gth,  1956. 

The  Rev.  David  C.  Page,  D.  D: 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir. — The  undersigned  having  enjoyed  the  pleasure 
and  advantage  of  listening  to  your  very  able  and  impressive  discourse, 
delivered  on  the  occasion  of  the  recent  ordination  in  St.  John’s  Church , 
respectfully  request  that  you  will  furnish  a  copy  of  the  same  for  pub¬ 
lication. 

We  are,  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, 

Your  faithful  Friends, 

and  Fellow  Servants,  in  Christ  Jesus, 

B.  B.  Smith,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese, 

Gr.  P.  Schetky,  Rector  of  St.  John’s  Church,  Louisville, 

F.  H.  Bushnell,  Rector  of  Grace  Church,  Louisville, 

J.  Singer  Wallace,  Rector  of  St.  Andrews’  Church,  Louisville, 

J.  M.  Gosiiorn,  Rector  of  S.  Paul’s  Church,  New  Albany,  Ind. 

Jas.  Runcie,  Rector  of  St.  Paul’s  Church,  Jeffersonville,  Ind. 

D.  L.  Miller,  St.  John’s  Parish, 

G.  R.  Penton,  St.  John’s  Church, 

John  S.  Arnold,  St.  John’s  Parish, 

S.  Ringgold,  Grace  Church  Parish, 

R.  L.  Talbot,  St.  John’s  Parish, 

Wm.  Inman,  St.  John’s  Parish, 

Jas.  P.  Arnold,  St.  John’s  Parish, 

E.  W.  Crittenden,  St.  Paul’s  Parish, 

Wm.  F.  Pettet,  St.  Paul’s  Parish. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Craik  being  absent  from  the  city,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Denison  engaged  in  parochial  duty,  were  prevented  from  attending  on 
the  occasion. 


R  E  PLY. 

To  The  Rt.  Rev.  B.  B.  Smith,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Kentucky,  the  Rev. 

Gr.  P.  Schetky  and  others  of  the  Clergy,  and  to  Mr.  D.  L.  Miller, 

and  W.  F.  Pettet  and  others  of  the  Laity: 

Rt.  R  ev.  Father  in  God,  and  Beloved  Brethren. — To  be  called  upon 
by  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  and  by  so  many  respected  and  beloved 
brethren  both  of  the  Clergy  and  the  Laity,  for  the  publication  of  the 
Discourse  delivered  by  me  at  the  recent  ordination  at  St.  John’s,  is  a 
distinction  certainly  more  flattering  than  I  deserve,  but  it  leaves  me  no 
alternative  other  than  that  of  unhesitatingly  placing  the  manuscript  at 
your  disposal,  and  of  heartily  thanking  you  for  this  most  gratifying 
mark  of  your  recognition  of  the  claims  of  my  sermon  to  be  given  to 
the  world. 

Meanwhile,  Beloved  Brethren, 

I  am  most  Respectfully  and  Affectionately 

Your  Faithful  Friend  and  Servant, 
for  Christ’s  sake, 

DAVID  C.  PAGE. 


Louisville,  May  2 6th,  1856. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/discoursepronounOOpage 


SERMON. 


‘‘Thoy  that  have  used  the  office  of  a  Deacon  well,  purchase  to  them' 
selves  a  good  degree,  and  great  boldness  in  the  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus. — St .  Paul's  1st  Epistle  to  Timothy ,  3 rd  c .,  VSth  verse. 

We  are  assembled  my  brethren,  upon  an  occasion 
no  less  solemn  and  interesting  than  that  of  the  ordina¬ 
tion  of  the  brother  now  before  us  to  the  sacred  office 
of  a  Deacon,  and  did  I  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  con¬ 
sult  my  own  preferences  merely,  I  should  be  a  listen¬ 
er,  and  not  the  preacher  of  the  day.  But  it  having 
been  thought  good  by  our  Bishop  to  assign  this  duty 
to  me,  I  have  no  other  alternative  but  to  proceed  as 
best  I  may,  to  its  fulfilment;  and  in  view  of  the  pecu¬ 
liar  nature  of  the  office  about  to  be  conferred,  have 
chosen  the  above  very  suggestive  words,  as  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  my  discourse.  “  They  that  have  used  the  office 
of  a  Deacon  well,  have  purchased  to  themselves  a  good 
degree,  and  great  boldness  in  the  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.”  These  I  say,  are  the  words  which  J 
propose  to  speak  to  now,  and  we  may  learn  from  them 
in  the  first  place, 

I.  That  THERE  IS  A  DIVINELY  INSTITUTED  GRADA¬ 
TION  in  the  Christian  Ministry;  for,  says  the  Apos¬ 
tle,  “they  that  have  used  the  office  of  a  Deacon 
well,  have  purchased  to  themselves  a  good  degree.” 
And  where,  I  might  ask,  where  throughout  the  uni- 


8 


verse  of  God,  where  are  there  not  degrees  of  authority, 
and  differences  of  order,  and  gradations  of  rank?  Of 
the  economy  of  the  heavenly  state,  but  little  is  revealed 
to  us,  yet  still  we  perceive  manifold  traces  in  Holy 
Scripture,  of  the  existence  of  a  Heavenly  hierarchy. 
We  read  of  a  regular  subordination  among  the  Heav¬ 
enly  intelligences;  of  a  succession  of  grades;  of  rank 
rising  above  rank,  until  the  sublime  images  are  pre¬ 
sented  to  us  of  the  High  Archangel,  of  cherubim  and 
seraphim,  of  thrones  and  dominions,  of  principal¬ 
ities  and  powers;  and  when  we  come  down  from  that 
lofty  elevation,  to  this,  our  earthly  dwelling  place,  we 
find  that  into  all  associations  which  are  organized  for 
the  attainment  of  common  and  public  views,  the  idea 
of  a  gradation  of  offices,  of  a  series  of  rank,  necessa¬ 
rily'  enters.  Such  a  constitution  is  inseparable  from 
the  idea  of  a  regular  army,  of  an  established  marine, 
of  any  association  of  men  indeed,  the  attainment  of 
whose  objects  depends  in  those  who  manage  their  af¬ 
fairs,  upon  a  large  experience,  extensive  knowledge, 
and  consummate  skill.  Nay,  whenever  we  think  of 
an  accomplished  military  commander,  of  a  distinguish¬ 
ed  director  of  any  department  of  civic  and  of  social 
life,  we  picture  to  ourselves  one  who  has  diligently  and 
patiently  passed  through  the  lower  gradations  of  em¬ 
ployment  and  distinction,  and  has  thus  become  quali¬ 
fied  by  much  study,  and  toil,  and  discipline,  and  self- 
denial,  and  submission  to  authority,  for  the  illustrious 
station  to  which  he  has  finally  been  exalted. 

And  so  it  has  ever  been  in  the  Church  of  God.  Un¬ 
der  the  ancient  dispensation,  there  was  the  High  Priest, 
the  Priest  and  the  Levite.  In  the  aboriginal  Christian 


9 


Church,  there  was  our  Saviour  himself,  the  twelve 
Apostles,  and  the  seventy  Disciples;  and  after  our 
Lord’s  ascension,  there  were  the  Apostles,  and  Elders, 
and  Deacons,  which  offices  have  ever  been  continued, 
if  not  in  all  their  circumstantials,  yet  in  all  their  essen¬ 
tial  features,  in  uninterrupted  succession  from  that  time 
to  this. 

And  there  is  a  striking  propriety,  a  divine  wisdom 
in  this  economy;  a  propriety  indeed,  and  wisdom, 
which  is  well  expressed  in  the  final  collect  in  the  office 
for  the  ordering  of  Deacons.  “Make  them,  we  be¬ 
seech  thee,  O  Lord,  to  be  modest,  humble,  and  constant 
in  their  ministrations,  to  have  a  ready  will  to  observe 
all  spiritual  discipline,  that  they,  having  always  the 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  and  continuing  ever 
stable  and  strong  in  thy  Son  Christ,  may  so  behave 
themselves  in  this  inferior  office,  that  they  may  be 
found  worthy  to  be  called  unto  the  higher  ministries 
of  the  Church.”  There  is  then  a  regular  and  most 
edifying  subordination  in  the  evangelic  ministry,  and 
the  lowest  grade,  the  first  point  in  the  ascending  series, 
is  the  office  of  a  Deacon.  We  will  advert  for  a  mo¬ 
ment  to  the  nature  of  this  office  as  it  is  laid  down  in 
Holy  Scripture,  and  in  accordance  therewith,  in  the 
ordinal  of  the  church.  We  learn  then  from  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  that,  in  the  early  church,  “when  the 
number  of  the  disciples  was  multiplied,  there  arose  a, 
murmuring  of  the  Grecians  against  the  Hebrews,  be¬ 
cause  their  widows  were  neglected  in  the  daily  minis¬ 
tration  Then  the  twelve  called  the  ntultitude  of  the 
disciples  to  them,  and  said:  It  is  not  reason  that  we 
should  leave  the  word  of  God,  and  serve  tables,  where- 


10 


fore,  brethren,  look  ye  out  among  you,  seven  men,  of 
honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  wisdom, 
whom  we  may  appoint  over  this  business.  But  we 
will  give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer,  and  the  min¬ 
istry  of  the  word;  and  the  saying  pleased  the  whole 
multitude,  and  they  chose  Stephen,  a  man  full  of  faith, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  Philip,  and  Prochorus,  and 
Nicanor,  and  Timon,  and  Parmenas,  and  Nicolas,  a 
proselyte  of  Antioch,  whom  they  set  before  the  Apos¬ 
tles,  and  when  they  had  prayed,  they  laid  their  hands 
on  them.”  And  we  are  told  further  on  in  the  book, 
‘that  Philip  one  of  the  seven  Deacons  so  appointed,  went 
dowm  to  the  city  of  Samaria,  and  preached  Christ  unto 
them;  and  that  when  they  believed  Philip  preaching 
the  things  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God,  they  were 
baptized,  both  men  and  women.” 

Now,  in  accordance  with  this  Scriptural  statement 
of  the  origin  and  powers  of  the  Deaconate,  we  are 
taught  in  the  form  and  manner  of  ordaining  Deacons; 
“that  it  appertained  to  the  office  of  a  Deacon  in  the 
church  where  lie  is  appointed  to  serve,  to  assist  the 
Priest  in  Divine  Service,  and  especially  when  he  min- 
istereth  the  Holy  Communion,  and  to  help  him  in  the 
distribution  thereof,  and  to  read  the  Ploly  Scriptures, 
and  Homilies  in  the  Church,  and  to  instruct  the  youth 
in  the  Catechism ;  in  the  absence  of  the  Priest,  to  bap¬ 
tize  infants,  and  to  preach,  if  he  be  admitted  thereto, 
by  the  Bishop.”  And  furthermore,  it  is  his  office, 
where  provision  is  so  made,  to  search  for  the  sick,  poor, 
and  impotent  people  of  the  Parish,  to  intimate  their 
estates,  names,  and  place  where  they  dwell,  unto  the 
curate,  so  that  they  may  be  relieved  by  the  alms  of 
parishioners  and  others. 


11 


Now,  what  I  would  have  you  observe,  in  view  of 
these  expressions  of  the  ordinal  is,  that  though  from 
the  great  exigencies  of  the  Church,  in  these  United 
States,  the  functions  of  the  Deacon  are  not  strictly 
conformed  to  the  primitive  and  apostolic  model,  (Dea¬ 
cons  having  hitherto  been  called  to  perform  the  duties 
of  preaching,  baptizing,  and  offering  the  devotional 
offices  of  the  church,)  yet,  that  according  to  its  true 
theory,  and  for  the  most  part  as  it  would  seem,  its 
more  primitive  exercise,  the  Deacon’s  ministry  is  em¬ 
phatically  a  ministry  of  mercy.  For  of  this  sacred 
order  it  is  here  affirmed,  to  be  the  proper  and  peculiar 
province,  to  seek  out  objects  of  benevolence  and  char¬ 
ity  ;  to  visit  the  sick,  to  relieve  the  destitute,  and  to  be 
the  almoners  of  their  more  favored  brethren,  to  the 
children  of  poverty  and  sorrow.  And  the  time  is 
coming,  when,  as  I  believe,  the  office  of  a  Deacon 
shall  revert  to  its  original  simplicity,  and  when  there 
shall  be  associated  with  the  Pastor  of  every  consider¬ 
able  Parish,  in  the  large  cities  especially,  of  our  coun¬ 
try,  one  or  more  Deacons,  who  shall  fully  carry  out 
the  original  conception  of  the  office,  and  thus  afford 
the  edifying  and  impressive  exhibition  of  the  three  or¬ 
ders  in  their  integrity;  the  visible  and  striking  embod¬ 
iment  of  the  three-fold  apostolic  ministry.  Meanwhile, 
it  becomes  those  who  are  of  the  order  of  Deacons  to 
continually  bear  in  mind,  the  peculiar  nature  and  pre¬ 
rogatives  of  their  office,  to  remember  that  their  mission 
is  empatically  a  mission  of  mercy,  and  that  they  are 
constituted  by  the  form  and  manner,  the  explicit  terms 
of  their  commission,  the  messengers  of  a  pitying  God, 
of  a  compassionate  and  merciful  Saviour,  to  the  needy 


12 


and  suffering  partakers  of  our  common  nature,  to  those 
of  them  in  especial,  “who  are  of  the  household  of 
faith,”  and  that  they  have  a  special  call  to  the  service 
of  that  crowning  grace  of  the  Holy  Gospel,  the  grace 
of  charity,  and  to  pass  into  the  church  higher  minis¬ 
tries,  with  the  outstretched  hand  of  relief,  and  the  gen¬ 
tle  words  of  heavenly  consolation  and  peace. 

And  who  does  not  see,  that  the  office  of  a  Deacon, 
were  it  duly  carried  out,  is  admirably  adapted  to  cher¬ 
ish  and  to  keep  in  vigorous  action,  those  other  cardi¬ 
nal  graces  of  the  gospel,  modesty,  humility,  the  spirit 
of  subordination,  and  submission  to  lawful  authority. 
The  spirit  of  arrogance  and  presumption,  a  proud,  as¬ 
piring,  self-sufficient,  self-righteous  spirit,  is  natural  to 
man,  to  the  young  man  in  especial,  and  therefore  what 
a  divine  wisdom  is  there  not  ’in  that,  element  in  the 
church’s  constitution,  which  provides  in  the  order  of 
Deacons,  a  powerful  check  to  these  wayward  propen¬ 
sities  of  our  nature,  by  precluding  an  immediate  and 
abrupt  transition  to  the  full  and  unlimited  exercise  of 
the  ministerial  office.  The  obvious  tendency  of  such 
an  arrangement,  is,  to  foster  a  modest,  humble,  self- 
distrusting  spirit,  to  suggest  and  to  establish  habits  of 
self-discipline,  self-control,  and  deference  to  authority. 
For  what  is  the  genius  of  the  Deaconal  office  as  it  is 
delineated  in  the  ordinal,  and  defined  by  the  canoni¬ 
cal  provisions  of  the  church  \  Why,  it  is  emphatically 
a  limited  and  subordinate  office.  For  it  is  an  express 
canonical  provision,  that,  Deacon’s  orders  shall  not  be 
conferred  upon  any  person,  until  he  shall  be  one  and 
twenty  years  of  age,  nor  Priest’s  orders  upon  any  one 
until  he  shall  have  attained  to  the  age  of  four  and 


I 


13 

twenty.  It  is  provided,  moreover,  that  the  Deacon 
shall  be  subject  to  the  regulations  of  the  Bishop,  and 
that  he  shall  officiate  in  such  places  as  the  Bishop  shall 
dictate.  The  canons  contemplate  then,  that  a  Deacon, 
if  he  be  admitted  to  his  order  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  shall  be  subjected  to  probation  of  three  years, 
before  his  admission  to  the  higher  order  of  Priests; 
and  during  that  interval,  as  it  is  provided  in  the  ordi¬ 
nal,  his  official  duties  and  prerogatives  are  to  be  en¬ 
tirely  subordinate  and  auxiliary  to  those  of  the  Priest, 
and  with  regard  to  the  duty  of  teaching,  in  especial,  it 
is  expressly  set  forth  in  the  ordinal,  that  he  is  to  preach 
the  gospel  only  if  admitted  thereto  by  the  Bishop  him¬ 
self.  Accordingly,  my  advice  would  be  to  the  Dea¬ 
cons  of  the  church,  and  it  will  be  regarded  perhaps, 
as  being  entitled  to  some  degree  of  weight  from  my 
long  and  active  ministry  in  the  church’s  service,  my 
advice,  I  say,  would  be  to  the  Deacons  of  the  church, 
that  they  should  seek  no  abridgement  of  the  prepara¬ 
tory  interval  required  by  the  canon,  but  that  deeply 
thankful  rather  for  the  canonical  restrictions  imposed 
on  them,  thev  should  devote  the  entire  interval  with- 
out  a  day’s  curtailment,  to  assiduous  study,  to  fervent 
prayer,  to  meditation,  and  searching  self- scrutiny,  to 
works  of  charity  and  mercy,  and  to  the  occasional, 
indeed,  but  not  very  frequent  exercise  of  the  office 
of  preaching;  and  that  they  should  by  no  means  be 
deterred  from  this  course,  by  the  fear  of  “  hiding  their 
talents  in  a  napkin,”  or  “burying  them  in  the  earth,” 
or  of  “quenching  the  spirit,”  or  of  neglecting  to  “let 
their  light  shine,”  or  to  keep  in  action,  real  or  imagi¬ 
nary  gifts  and  graces.  It  is  quite  sufficient,  to  keep 


14 


down  all  such  unpleasant  misgivings,  to  remember,  that 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  the  Great  High  Priest  of  our 
profession,  did  not  enter  upon  the  exercise  of  His  pub¬ 
lic  ministry  until  He  had  attained  to  the  ripe  age  of 
thirty  years,  and  that  His  great  Apostle  declares, 
“This  is  a  true  saying,  if  a  man  desire  the  office  of  a 
Bishop,  he  desireth  a  good  work.  A  Bishop  then  must 
be  blameless,  the  husband  of  one  wife,  vigilant,  sober, 
of  good  behavior,  given  to  hospitality,  apt  to  teach, 
not  given  to  wine,  no  striker,  not  greedy  of  filthy 
lucre,  but  patient,  not  a  brawler,  not  covetous,  one  that 
ruleth  well  his  own  house,  having  his  children  in  sub¬ 
jection,  with  all  gravity;  for  if  a  man  know  not  how 
to  rule  his  own  house,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the 
Church  of  God;  not  a  novice,  lest  being  lifted  up  with 
pride,  he  fall  into  the  condemnation  of  the  devil;  more¬ 
over,  he  must  have  a  good  report  of  them  that  are 
without,  lest  he  fall  into  reproach,  and  into  the  snare 
of  the  devil.”  But  a  strict  carrying  out  of  the  true 
genius  of  the  Deaconal  office,  would  tend  to  save  a 
man  from  the  evils  here  contemplated  by  the  Apostle, 
and  to  superinduce  that  very  spirit  of  humility,  mod¬ 
esty,  self-government,  and  submission  to  authority, 
which  is  universally  regarded  as  the  best  preparation 
for  being  elevated  to  places  of  high  trust,  and  of  com¬ 
manding  influence. 

And  such  a  spirit  is  the  best  preparation  not  only 
for  such  a  position,  but  constitutes  the  best  title  to  it 
also.  Nothing  great  or  good  in  life  is  to  be  acquired 
without  capacity,  without  self-possession,  without  un¬ 
tiring  vigilance,  without  patient  and  persevering  toil, 
and  without  a  careful  observance  of  the  recognized 


15 


proprieties,  and  conventional  decencies  of  the  social 
state.  He  who  conducts  himself  with  scrupulous 
fidelity  and  ability,  in  an  inferior  station,  is  surely  bet¬ 
ter  entitled  to  be  promoted  to  posts  of  higher  trust  and 
distinction,  than  he  who  in  the  same  station  in  life,  has 
given  no  proof  of  capacity,  done  nothing  positive  and 
effective,  or  fallen  culpably  short  it  may  be,  of  filling 
up  the  measure  of  his  obligations.  And  hence,  there 
is  a  peculiar  and  striking  force  in  the  words  of  the 
Apostle  in  the  text,  ‘'they  that  have  used  the  office  of 
a  Deacon  well,  purchase  to  themselves  a  good  degree.” 

But  the  Apostle  further  affirms  in  the  words  I  am 
now  speaking  to,  that  “they  who  have  used  the  office 
of  a  Deacon  well,  purchase  to  themselves  a  good  de¬ 
gree,”  not  only,  but  “great  boldness  also  in  the  faith 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.”  And  this  clause  of  the  pas¬ 
sage  seems  to  admit  of  a  two-fold  interpretation.  For 
it  may  mean,  that  those  who  thus  behave  themselves 
worthily  in  this  inferior  office,  become  in  the  vigorous 
language  of  the  ordinal,  stable  and  strong  in  the  faith 
of  Christ,  and  courageous  and  bold  in  the  proclama¬ 
tion  and  defense  of  the  truth,  and  this  is  a  very  good 
meaning,  and  very  true  to  the  spirit  which  is  superin¬ 
duced,  by  the  worthily  passing  through  the  probation 
of  the  Deaconal  office.  Or  it  may  mean  that  the  dis¬ 
ciplinary  and  preparatory  exercises  of  the  Deacon's 
office,  such  as  the  habit  of  mingling  familiar  counsels 
and  exhortations,  with  the  benefactions  he  administers 
to  the  sick  and  the  poor,  will,  together  with  the  sys¬ 
tematic  meditations  and  studies,  which  he  is  supposed 
to  pursue,  and  the  occasional  exercise  of  the  office  of 
a  public  teacher,  have  the  effect  of  giving  him  a  promp- 


1G 


titude  of  utterance,  a  readiness  of  thought  and  expres¬ 
sion,  And  this,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  is  the  true 
meaning  of  the  phrase  in  question,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
suggested  in  the  first  place  by  the  genius  of  the  Dea¬ 
con’s  office,  and  secondly,  because  as  I  would  remind 
my  Rt.  Rev.  Father,  and  my  Rev.  Brethren,  whose 
studies  have  lain  in  this  direction,  the  literal  import 
of  the  Greek  word  as  it  is  defined  by  the  learned  lex¬ 
icographer,  Schleusner,  is  liberty  of  speech,  or  liberty 
in  speaking  rather,  and  is  applied  to  one  who  speaks 
in  public,  and  delivers  his  sentiments  on  the  subject 
which  he  is  upon,  with  self-possession,  without  trepi¬ 
dation,  WITHOUT  HESITATION,  aild  with  REAL  EFFECT. 
So  that,  the  true  import  of  the  passage  as  it  seems  to 
me,  is  this,  “they  that  have  used  the  office  of  a  Deacon 
well,  secure  to  themselves  a  title  to  a  higher  office,  a 
good  degree/  and  also  will  have  attained  to*  a  readi¬ 
ness  of  thought  and  expression  suitable  to  the  clear¬ 
ness  and  excellency  of  God’s  Holy  Word. 

And  now  my  beloved  friend  and  brother,  what  shall 
I  say  to  you,  in  addition  to  what  I  have  already  said. 
Long  and  intimately  associated  as  you  have  been  with 
our  Rev.  Brother,  the  esteemed  Rector  of  this  Parish, j* 
ever  under  his  eye,  guided  by  his  counsel,  and  in¬ 
structed  and  animated  by  his  truly  pastoral  and  edi¬ 
fying  example,  I  feel  that  it  cannot  be  necessary, 
nay,  that  it  would  be  unbecoming  almost,  in  me,  to 
dilate  upon  the  awful  responsibilities  of  the  ministerial 
office.  But  there  is  one  point  to  which  I  may  be  per- 


*noXX>ju  ‘Tccppyjiav  sv  tflfSi  ry  sv  Xpisru)  lydov 

fRev.  G.  P.  Schetky. 


17 


mitted  to  call  your  attention  upon  this  occasion,  and 
that  is,  the  peculiar  trials  which  are  before  you  as 
one  of  the  ministers  of  Christ's  flock;  nay  it  is  a  point 
which  I  feel,  it  may  be  highly  profitable  to  dwell  upon 
for  a  moment.  I  would  say  then,  many  and  grievous 
trials  you  have  before  you,  my  brother.  Of  these 
trials  you  may  have  some  conception  indeed,  but  as 
yet,  have  had  no  experience.  You  must  prepare  your¬ 
self  then,  for  those  sufferings,  not  only  of  the  mind  and 
body  which  are  common  to  all  men,  but  for  encoun¬ 
tering  MINISTERIAL  AND  PASTORAL  TRIALS  which  in  the 
first  years  of  your  ministry  in  especial,  will  press  upon 
you  with  peculiar  and  most  irksome  severity.  These 
trials  are  of  no  less  magnitude  than  the  want  of  an 
adequate  appreciation  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom 
you  minister,  of  the  nature,  the  authority,  and  the 
practical  import  of  “the  ministry  of  reconciliation,”  a 
profound  and  at  times  an  almost  overwhelming  sense 
of  the  dread  responsibilities  of  our  trust,  and  of  the 
insufficiency  of  any  mortal  man  to  meet  its  high 
and  sacred  exigencies,  a  feeling  in  especial,  of  your 
inadequacy  to  unravel  that  tortuous  web  of  sophistry 
in  human  hearts,  which  so  often  interposes  fatal  obsta¬ 
cles  to  the  reception  of  “the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,”  to 
adapt  yourself  in  your  public  teachings,  and  in  your 
private  conferences,  to  all  the  varied  phases  under 
which  the  human  character  unfolds  itself;  and,  as  “a 
workman  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  to  rightly 
divide  the  word  of  truth,  and  to  give  to  each  man  his 
portion  in  due  season.”  And  not  seldom  my  brother, 
will  you  have  to  deeply  and  bitterly  deplore  the  ap¬ 
parent  want  of  success,  the  painful  fruitlessness  of  your 
2. 


18 


most  continuous,  laborious,  and  best  directed  efforts, 
the  inexplicable  indifference,  the  astounding  insensibili¬ 
ties  of  many  of  your  flock  to  the  weightiest,  the  most 
solemn,  and  the  most  affecting  verities.  You  will, 
sometimes  be  immeasurably  astonished  and  profoundly 
humiliated  by  the  consciousness  of  your  own  unprofit¬ 
ableness  and  unworthiness,  your  infirmity  of  purpose, 
your  devotional  inaptitudes,  the  weakness  of  your 
faith,  your  backwardness  to  duty,  and  your  strange 
insensibility  to  the  claims  of  our  compassionate  and 
merciful  Redeemer  upon  your  heart’s  homage,  and 
your  life’s  devotions.  But  be  of  good  heart  my  brother 
fear  not,  be  not  dismayed.  “Greater  is  he  that  is  for 
you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world,"  and  all  the  perfec¬ 
tions  of  his  illimitable  nature  are  pledged  for  the  suc¬ 
cess,  the  support,  the  solace,  and  the  final  triumph 
of  His  faithful  ministers.  With  the  Father  of  an  infi¬ 
nite  Majesty,  the  Eternal  Source  of  light,  and  life,  and 
joy,  and  power,  with  His  adorable,  true,  and  only  Son, 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  comforter,  with  Angels  and 
Ministers  of  Grace  for  your  helpers  and  defenders, 
what  have  you  to  fear?  To  what  toils,  to  what  sacri¬ 
fices,  to  what  sufferings  will  you  not  be  equal  ?  What 
heights  of  saintly  purity  and  devotion  may  you  not 
attain  to  ?  What  glorious  conquests  may  you  not  win 
over  the  world,  the  devil,  and  the  flesh  ?  What  signal 
success  may  you  not  hope  for  ?  What  a  radiant  crown 
of  celestial  glory  may  you  not  aspire  to?  Yes,  my 
beloved  brother  in  Christ,  many  long  }^ears  have 
passed  away  since  a  very  young  man,  looking  anx¬ 
iously  into  the  distant  future,  and  not  knowing  what 
was  before  me  in  the  developments  of  my  ministerial 


19 


life,  I  stood  before  the  altar  of  God,  to  receive  at  the 
hands  of  the  venerable  and  now  sainted  White,  the 
successive  orders  of  Deacon  and  of  Priest,  and  I  now 
with  a  thankful  and  swelling  heart  declare,  that  Christ's 
glorious  promise  to  be  with  His  ministers  always,  has 
never  failed  me ;  that  I  have  been  refreshed  in  every 
toil,  cheered  and  comforted  in  every  sorrow,  left  not 
without  many  happy  tokens  of  a  successful  ministry, 
and  standing  forth  this  day,  a  living  monument  of  in¬ 
comprehensible  and  wondrous  grace,  I  rejoice  in  the 
felicity  of  setting  this  public  and  open  seal  to  the  truth 
of  that  declaration  of  the  Psalmist,  “Happy  is  the  mao 
who  hath  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help,  whose  hope 
is  in  the  Lord  his  God,  who  made  the  heaven  and 
earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  who  keepeth  mer¬ 
cy  and  truth  forever.” 

'«/ 

And  now  my  beloved  brother,  in  a  few  moments, 
the  hands  of  the  chief  Pastor  will  have  been  laid  upon 
your  head;  the  vows  of  God  will  be  upon  you;  and 
you  will  be  invested  with  the  highest  dignity  which 

CAN  BE  CONFERRED  UPON  MORTAL  MAN,  THE  OFFICE  OF  A 

Minister  of  Christ.  How  full  of  awful  interest  is  not 
this  hour.  How  fraught  with  the  most  thrilling  asso¬ 
ciations  of  thought  and  feeling;  unseen  angels  are  in 
this  assembly,  the  Blessed  Paraclete,  the  Celestial 
Dove  is  waiting  hither  to  descend,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  himself,  the  first 
in  that  illustrious  line  of  Pastors  and  Teachers,  with 
whom  he  has  promised  to  be  “always  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world/'  is  looking  down  upon  the  transactions 
of  this  hour,  with  perceptions  which  he  only  can  know. 
Thou  vain  false  world,  with  all  thy  pomp  and  pagean- 


20 


try  retire.  Dare  not  with  thy  low  trivialities,  thy 
sordid  cares,  thy  pitiful  pretensions,  thy  ungenerous 
rivalries,  thy  vulgar  aspirations,  to  intrude  upon  the 
awful  solemnities,  the  heaven-descended  glories  of  this 
hour.  Begone,  and  leave  us  alone  with  Christ  and 
with  God. 

i. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  thine  earnest  given, 

That  these  our  prayers  are  heard,  and  they 

Who  grasp  this  hour  the  sword  of  heaven, 

Shall  feel  thee  on  their  weary  wav. 

4'  • 

II. 

Oft  as  at  morn  or  soothing  eve, 

Over  the  Holy  Fount  they  lean, 

Then  fading  garlands  freshly  weave, 

Or  fan  them  with  thine  airs  serene. 

III. 

Spirit  of  Light  and  Truth,  to  thee 
We  trust  them  in  that  musing  hour. 

Till  they  with  open  heart  and  free, 

Teach  all  thy  Word  in  all  its  power. 

IV. 

When  foe  men  watch  their  tents  by  night, 

And  mists  hang  wide  o’er  moor  and  fell 

Spirit  of  counsel,  and  of  might, 

Their  pastoral  warfare  guide  them  well. 

V. 

And  oh !  when  worn  and  tired  they  siglv# 

With  that  more  fearful  war  within, 

When  passion’s  storms  are  loud  and  high, 

And  brooding  o’er  remembered  sin. 

VI. 

The  heart  lies  down,  0,  mightiest  then. 

Come  ever  true,  come  ever  near, 

And  wake  their  slumbering  love  again. 

Spirit  of  God’s  most  holy  fear. 

Now  to  God  the  Father,  &e. 


